Follow-Up: Dave MacLeod — Mindset Shifts, Choosing Finger Training Protocols, & How to Be a Pro-environmental Carnivore
Feb 5, 2025
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Dave MacLeod, an experienced climber known for his diverse expertise, shares insights on pivotal mindset shifts that transformed his climbing journey. He delves into the debate around finger training protocols and the balance between pushing limits and ensuring longevity in the sport. MacLeod explores the connection between environmentalism and meat consumption, advocating for a pro-environmental carnivore lifestyle. He also discusses the importance of reconciling conflicting scientific advice in nutrition and training, emphasizing personal growth through diverse perspectives.
Mindset shifts, such as embracing soloing experiences, enhance climbing confidence and promote growth beyond initial fears and limitations.
A critical approach to nutrition reveals the necessity of bridging scientific understanding with the climbing community's evolving dietary beliefs for performance.
Deep dives
Balancing Work and Training
Maintaining a balance between work and training is essential for mental clarity and productivity. The speaker emphasizes the benefit of separating the workspace from home, stating that having a dedicated co-working space has increased focus and allowed for a distinct end to the workday. This intentional separation helps to compartmentalize tasks, making it easier to switch off and enjoy personal time. The importance of finding a personal routine that maximizes productivity while still making room for leisure and training is highlighted.
Mindset Shifts in Climbing
The speaker reflects on significant mindset shifts that enhance both mental and physical aspects of climbing performance. Experiences such as soloing have instilled confidence by pushing personal limits and revealing the capacity for growth beyond initial fears. An educational background in science also contributes to this mindset, promoting a critical approach to widely accepted beliefs in the climbing community. This combination of lived experiences and academic insights fosters a more informed and empowered perspective on climbing and personal development.
Nutrition and the Climbing Community
The conversation regarding nutrition reveals a gap between scientific understanding and prevailing beliefs within the climbing community. The speaker points out the inertia within nutritional sciences and how many climbers may be slow to adopt new information that contradicts mainstream narratives. Going back to formal education in nutrition was motivated by a desire to bridge this gap and understand the discrepancies in dietary approaches. The dialogue underscores the need for critical thinking and flexibility when it comes to nutrition in relation to performance.
Performance vs. Longevity in Climbing
The balance between performance and longevity in climbing can often appear contradictory, but they can coexist harmoniously. Proper training and injury management are essential to prolonging climbing careers, with consistent training being the cornerstone of maintaining both performance and health. The speaker emphasizes that even with age, it remains feasible to regain strength and ability with dedication to training. This perspective on training reveals a proactive approach that values sustainability in climbing practice rather than succumbing to the physical limitations that can come with age.
Dave MacLeod is back to answer some of your most burning questions. We talked about notable mindset shifts that affected him, how to reconcile contradictory advice, how to balance longevity with pushing your max, whether prehab training is necessary, his thoughts on Emil Abrahamsson and Keith Baar’s study on “No Hangs”, his thoughts on active flexion or finger curls, how to choose your training method, whether eating meat can coexist with environmentalist and much more.